Ansel Elgort’s ‘Thief’ Marks A Foray into Music with Mixed Results

Ansel Elgort may have stole our hearts on the big screen, but his performance in his music video “Thief” just doesn’t match up.

Elgort initially entered the music scene through his original dance singles and remixes under the stage name Ansolo in 2014, layering a thick vibrance to such tracks as “Runaway (U & I)” by Galantis and “Clarity” by Zedd. After establishing his aptitude as an actor in the young-adult films The Fault in Our Stars and Divergent, he decided to venture into the realm of singing in his single “Home Alone,” released in 2016. He followed this successful hit with another of equal reception, dropping “Thief” on Jan. 27 and its music video on Feb. 2.

The video opens with a sultry Elgort viewing a colorful projection on a wall. The screen shifts to him sauntering into a wooden mansion in a black turtleneck and coat, before giving way to what can only be described as an outlandish enigma. Clips include some pseudo-sexy but primarily awkward dance moves and hand movements reminiscent of Ralph Macchio’s Karate Kid, alternating between snippets of Elgort seducing his always ill-clad damsel.

While the snapshots of the heartthrob doing push-ups and strutting shirtless may thrill his tween fanbase, they don’t supplement any end for his music career. The neon blue and pink illumination of his dark ensemble during the dance sequences does offer a visually pleasant contrast, but it seems to act as over-embellishment for the underdeveloped concept supporting the entire video.

The savior of the piece is the quality of the song, which is high in both vocal ability and catchiness. Elgort’s tone is a delicious amount of provocative, intriguing viewers despite the video’s obvious flaws.

So while there might be some faults in this up-and-coming star’s first music video, we have high hopes that his vocal talent will manage to surpass the bizarre hiccups in his music video debut.

Featured Image By Island Records

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Barrette is the social media manager for The Heights. She is from Scottsdale, AZ, and she has a deep love for theatre, films, and so-ugly-they're-cute animals. She served as the Editorial Assistant on the 2017 Heights board, but she cannot wait to harness the newfound power of the 280-character tweet for The Heights in 2018.